Apartment Therapy's Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces
Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan
304 pages
$35
"Nothing you do for your home is ever wasted," says Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan, who describes himself as part interior designer and part life coach.
The co-founder of the Apartment Therapy blog network says that by far the most common problem that people present to him is their lack of space.
Even those with large houses often have a small room that they don't know how to handle, Mr. Gillingham-Ryan points out.
"In rougher commercial spaces as well as new construction homes, it is important to try to soften the hard-edged surfaces and add as many personal and organic elements as possible."
His clients are often creative types who live in cool places, such as New York's West Village and Hell's Kitchen. He counts among the owners a drummer, dress designer, actor, photographer, creative director, food stylist and a few architects, so clearly his work appeals to those who follow creative pursuits. But anyone who is struggling to create drama and beauty - as well as find imaginative strategies for wrangling all the stuff - in a small apartment could find inspiration in this book.
He points out that, more than square footage, we crave variation between spaces. Many of the apartments he profiles consist of less than 800 square feet, yet he and the owners have found ways to make them feel larger with the use of colour, contrast, furniture and art.
In Chelsea, two architects niftily place their kids' nursery under master bedroom loft. In another apartment, it's the kitchen that is tucked under the bedroom.
Mr. Gillingham-Ryan confesses that he hates the word "storage" because it so often refers to lifeless places where people put things that they don't want, don't use and don't really want to see again. He favours open containers and shelves, and old-fashioned solutions such as hooks, bins and wide-mouth bottles - the simpler the better.
"It should be easy-to-access and full of useful, desired objects instead of rejected things crammed away."
Mr. Gillingham-Ryan also recommends keeping bedrooms clam, clean and uncluttered. Nothing should be stored under the bed because that can detract from restful energy. In one surprising space, the author reveals a closet that has been emptied and turned into a meditation space with a slate accent wall.
While many people want to add closets in order to store more belongings the author goes the other way: Closets, he points out, can be used in such unexpected ways as the meditation room in order to add a new sense of space and possibility to small homes with a limited number of rooms.
The book is filled with colourful photographs of appealing rooms and winsome details. Clearly Mr. Gillingham-Ryan doesn't impose a style on these artistic homeowners; personality absolutely radiates from the rooms. He seems to have a particular knack with bedrooms for kids and babies.
He and his mate were living in a 250-square foot studio when their first baby was born. Children are very adaptable and infinitely imaginative, and they require their parents more than space, he says.
Their rooms should be comfortable and lovingly-decorated, the author advises. In fact, that pretty much sums up his philosophy about any room in the house.